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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-06-27 School Committee MinutesOF J? dJ Town of Reading 4 Meeting Minutes f63�+lNCORQ�� Board - Committee - Commission - Council: School Committee Date: 2016-06-27 Building: School - Memorial High Address: 82 Oakland Road Purpose: Open Session Attendees: Members - Present: Time: 7:00 PM PjFCFIVFD 1[,1b ?0! P 12: 1 b Location: Superintendent Conference Ro Session: Open Session Version: Final Jeanne Borawski, Linda Snow Dockser, Chuck Robinson, Julie Joyce, Elain0 Webb, Gary Nihan Members - Not Present: Student Representatives Nazzaro and Cutone Others Present: Superintendent John Doherty, Assistant Superintendent Craig Martin, Director of Student Services Carolyn Wilson, Director of Finance Martha Sybert, Chronicle Reporter Al Sylvia, RTA President Eric Goldstein; Erica McNamara - RCASA, RMHS Assistant Principal Tom Zaya, Lt. Rich Abate - RPD, Michele Sanphy & Geoffrey Coram - parents Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Linda Engelson on behalf of the Chair Topics of Discussion: I. Call to Order Chair Robinson called the School Committee to order at 7:01 p.m. Reorganization The Chair handed the gavel to Superintendent Doherty. Superintendent Doherty explained the process and asked for nominations for Chair. Dr. Snow Dockser nominated, seconded by Mr. Robinson, Jeanne Borawski for the position of Chair of the Reading School Committee. Dr. Doherty asked if there were any other nominations. There were none. The roll call vote carried 6-0. Mr. Robinson, Mrs. Joyce, Dr. Nihan, Dr. Sno Dockser, Mrs. Webb and Mrs. Borawski. Mrs. Borawski thanked the Committee and is honored and humbled. Mrs. Borawski opened the floor to nominations for Vice Chair. Page 1 1 Mrs. Joyce nominated, seconded by Dr. Snow Dockser, Mr. Robinson for the position of Vice Chair of the Reading School Committee. The Chair asked for other nominations. There were none. The roll call vote carried 6-0. Mr. Robinson, Mrs. Joyce, Dr. Nihan, Dr. Snow Dockser, Mrs. Webb and Mrs. Borawski. II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Input Chair Borawski asked for public input on items not on the agenda. There was none. B. Consent Agenda Mrs. Borawski reviewed the consent agenda and asked if any members would like any items removed from the consent agenda. • Approval of RMHS Field Trips • Approval of Parker Field Trip • Accept Donations to RMHS — Target & Girls Soccer Parents • Accept a Donation from the Young Women's League of Reading • Accept an Anonymous Donation to Support Challenge Day • Accept a Donation from the Wood End PTO • Approval of Open Session Minutes (May 23 and June 6, 2016) Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Joyce, to approve the consent agenda. Mr. Robinson asked if we were monitoring the safety of these trips. Dr. Doherty said we monitor the state department website for alerts and we feel that the educational benefit cannot be duplicated. The district will continue to monitor the travel alerts. The motion carried 6-0. C. New Business RCASA Update — Opioid Law Dr. Doherty reviewed a memorandum from MASS providing an overview of toe Opioid Addiction Prevention Bill and turned the meeting over to Erica McNamara of RCASA. Ms. McNamara discussed the school related mandates as a result of this legislature which include the creation of substance abuse & education policies informed by the DESE and the MA Boards of Health. Reading Public Schools) Page 1 2 have previously established a policy (H.S. only). RCASA/RPS will review the policy and recommend revisions for vaping for other school levels. The next mandate is to verbally conduct student substance abuse screening. In 2016-17 we will pilot a verbal screening program at the high school level. Lastly, we will need to incorporate addiction and substance abuse education into the Driver's Education curriculum and concussion safety training. Ms. McNamara went on to discuss the implementation of a Verbal Screening Flan that will be a part of the annual weight/height, vision/hearing and scoliosis screenings that all student undergo each year. The Planning Committee reviewed best practices, tools and approaches for effectively and feasibly ways to bring this tool to the district. Ms. McNamara said that we are looking at the SBIRT Approach (Screening, Brief, Intervention, Referral, Treatment) which is an If ... Then approach. The MA Department of Public Health School Health Services and DESE is providing training to assist districts in successfully incorporating SBIRT into schools. Reading is drawing from the Wilmington Public Schools for our pilot. She went on to explain how this screening process would work. Students would be called down to the Nurse's Office for the yearly screenings. Once the physical screenings were completed they would be brought into a screening room where a brief explanation would be given of the process and the student would be given handouts. It will be stated that all students will be asked a few questions and to answer honestly. All information shared will be confidential until treatment is warranted. Ms. McNamara shared that the 2016-17 school year will be the pilot year screening one grade at the high school level, probably grade 9. All students will be asked 4 questions. If the student answers no to the first four questions, healthcare professional will reinforce the positive behavior. If a student answers yes to any of the 4 questions, they will be asked 6 more questions. Answers to these 6 questions will determine the course of action to be taken. The screening addresses all areas of substance abuse. Substance abuse is a disease that has a )ot of shame associated with it and people are hesitant to disclose information. The post screening process is to enter the document, schedule follow-up meeting with students as needed, determine if a parent phone call is needed, ongoing treatment and SBIRT team debriefing. The School Nurse will be the person conducting these screenings. Mr. Robinson asked how this will be funded. Dr. Doherty said the process will put a strain of our nursing staff. There may be grant opportunities in the future but we have not received any information. Mr. Nihan asked if the opt out option would be similar to the YRBS. Ms. McNamara indicated that it would. The last piece of the legislature is parent education. Links will be provided to direct parents to informational sights on the state Health and Human Services website and the Driver's Education curriculum will contain a module on the science related to addiction and addictive substances on a person while operating Page 1 3 a motor vehicle. RCASA will work with Community Education to implement this module. Lt. Abate and Ms. McNamara provided information on drug and paraphernalia awareness. They shared information on new types on marijuana and vape kites, Ms. McNamara pointed out that vaping brings kids a step closer to using marijuana, which RCASA and RPD are seeing. They shared photos of items confiscated from students which include rolling papers, electronic cigarettes, grinders, eye drops and devices used to disguise the illegal substances. Lt. Abate described the effects of hydroponic and synthetic marijuana. The synthetic form has a higher potency and does not show up on a drug test. When the user is coming down they experience paranoia and can be easily upset. He 11 equated it to the relationship between heroin and fentanyl. He went on to review items used to mask odors and creative storage methods. Ms. McNamara reviewed what we have done to date to address this issue. Grades 9 & 11 receive information in their Health classes as well as during the student leader training session. RCASA and RPS have held parent education session and events. Through the Youth Mental Health First Aid trainings 503 staff and community members have been trained with tools to aid in identifying studentslat risk. RCASA is looking at a referral service tool. The school department takes all use seriously and draws on resources as neede i.e. SRO, DCF, RCASA and Recovery High School, there are chemical health nd school search & seizure policies in place as well as breathalyzer or drug testinglias warranted. The final piece will be the piloting of the screening program. Dr. Snow Dockser appreciated the opportunity to participate in the Youth Mental Health First Aid Training. Mrs. Joyce feels the parent education piece is extremely informative. She feels it is important to educate the middle school level. Director of Finance Timeline Dr. Doherty reviewed the timeline for the Director of Finance search. This position is appointed by the School Committee. The Screening Committee will, move finalists forward to the Superintendent who will conduct interviews with the candidates. The Superintendent will move a pool of candidates forward to be interviewed by the School Committee on July 18th. The School Committee wiH vote to appoint the next Director of Finance on July 20th Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Joyce, to approve the Director of Finance Process and Timeline as presented. The motion carried 6-0. Page 1 4 D. Old Business FYI 6 Budget Update Ms. Sybert provided a FYI budget update. She provided information on each cost center and pointed out areas that we are anticipating deficits. Ms. Sybert will ask the Committee to vote to transfer money to the School Building Maintenance Cost Center and the Special Education Cost Center. She also shared that the Athletic Revolving account will be monitored over the course of the next fiscal', year due to concerns that it may end with a deficit balance at the end of FYI 7. Mr. Robinson would be interested to know if the shortfall is because of decreased participation or the increase in the fee. Mr. Coram inquired if the first remedy to avoid the shortfall would be to cut stiff. Dr. Doherty said that the district will monitor this closely and take appropriate action to address the possible shortfall. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Dr. Nihan, to authorize the transfer of $5,000 from the Administrative Cost Center and $45,000 from Regular Daly Cost Center totaling $50,000 to the School Building Maintenance Cost Center. The motion carried 6-0. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Dr. Nihan, to authorize the transfer of $57,000 from the Regular Day Cost Center to the Special Education Cost Center. The motion carried 6-0. FYI Budget Preparation Dr. Doherty reviewed the FYI budget discussion that was begun at the School Committee retreat. Dr. Doherty started the presentation providing a glimpse into the FYI budget.) The model he used was for an increase of .70% which would lead to a shortfall of approximately two million dollars (structural deficit). He next reviewed the possible breakdown of FYI reductions in the areas of expenses and wages. A', reduction of $300,000 could be taken in the areas of professional development,) technology and curriculum purchases, classroom supplies and miscellaneous expenses but these would be a series of one year reductions. Cuts in wages would be equivalent to the reduction of 30 FTE teachers to account for approximately) $1,650,083. The Superintendent reviewed the challenges facing the district over the next few years including retaining and attracting staff, developing well balanced and prepared students for career and college, supporting teachers and administrator$ as we transition to more rigorous standards and curriculum, continuing to impr¢ve our special education services and indistrict programs, identifying Iong term sp ce needs to address program changes and to remain competitive with area schools: Mrs. Webb feels that a key to student success is providing adequate supervision and support to teachers and administrators. Page 1 5 Mr. Robinson feels that the priority needs to be addressing the structural deficit. Dr. Snow Dockser feels that educating the community on the School Committee priorities is important. Dr. Doherty reminded the committee that this will be a continuing conversation and the committee does not need to prioritize the list of resources needed to address the challenges. Mr. Martin pointed out that the list of resources needed to address challenges and structural deficit does not constitute a wish list rather these needs ensure fiscal responsibility to address the needs of the district. Superintendent's Evaluation Process Dr. Doherty reviewed the timeline. Mrs. Webb volunteered to compile the evaluation information for presentation at a meeting later in the summer. Approval of Revised School Year Calendar Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Webb, to 2017 school year calendar as presented. Dr. Doherty reviewed the reasoning behind the change in the inservice day in April. As the result of the feedback from a survey conducted by the District Professional Development Committee it has been determined that a full day inservice day in March would be more beneficial for the staff to participate in professional development opportunities. The March 24th date would be used the Blue Ribbon Conference Day. The annual Artsfest celebration would remain in April. Mrs. Joyce wanted everyone to be aware that April 14, which is now an early release day is Good Friday. The motion carried 6-0. III. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) Warrant S 1650 6.9.16 $248,114.93 Warrant S 1651 6.16.16 $118,221.61 Warrant S1652 6.23.16 $586,979.77 Warrant P1625 6.3.16 $1,559,758.79 Warrant P 1626 6.17.16 $1,498,757.98 Warrant TLS 16 6.13.16 $1,067,603.77 b. Calendar IV. Information Page 1 6 V. Future Business VI. Adjournment Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Joyce, to enter into executive sessipn to discuss strategy with respect to litigation and school safety and security,'. the approval of minutes and not to return to open session. The roll call vole carried 6-0. Mr. Robinson, Mrs. Joyce, Dr. Nihan, Mrs. Borawski, Mrs. Webb and Dr. Snow Dockser. The meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. Jo F. Doherty, d.D. Page 1 7